Mercedes still paddock favourite despite Friday 'teething issues'

If you listen to the chatter around the Australian Grand Prix paddock on Friday, you might think Mercedes has already seized control of Formula 1’s new era.

Rivals are openly pointing at the Silver Arrows as the early benchmark after the opening day of running at Albert Park Circuit. Yet behind the scenes, Mercedes insists the reality is far less comfortable.

Yes, the numbers look promising. Kimi Antonelli finished second fastest and team-mate George Russell third, while their long-run pace left both Ferrari and McLaren drivers raising their eyebrows.

But the first Friday of the 2026 season was far from flawless for the Brackley squad.

Wolff Plays Down the Hype

Early technical hiccups reminded the team just how unpredictable Formula 1’s radical new regulations can be.

Mercedes encountered power unit-related issues during the opening session – a messy start that briefly left the team scrambling for answers before the afternoon recovery.

Team boss Toto Wolff admitted the day had its fair share of growing pains.

“It was a difficult birth today also for us, but not unexpected, I guess, when you start with new regulations. We weren’t in such a good place on the chassis side, power unit side, but all things that are surmountable,” Wolff said after FP1.

“It’s not inherent problems that we have in the hardware. Some of the software, it’s just teething problems.

“Now, having said that, I’ve always stated that I think Red Bull and Ferrari are very fast, and people try to continue to talk us up, and that’s flattering, but I’m not sure it’s 100% the reality, and certainly not what we have seen in FP1.”

In other words: Mercedes may be the paddock’s favourite right now – but the team itself isn’t buying the narrative just yet.

A Messy Start, Then A Recovery

Russell’s own day told a similar story – one that started in frustration before gradually stabilising as the sessions unfolded.

“We didn't have the smoothest first Friday of the season,” Russell admitted.

“FP1 was a tough session where we were struggling to optimise our battery harvesting and deployment.

“That demanded most of our attention and we therefore couldn't get stuck into our set-up work until much later in the hour. When we did, the car had a lot of understeer, and we also didn't have the time to put together a long run.”

Things improved considerably once Mercedes ironed out the initial problems.

“Thankfully, we made a positive step for FP2 and had a much better session,” Russell added.

“The car felt more put together and we completed a good amount of single lap and long run work. That puts us in a decent position for the rest of the weekend.

“The front of the field looks very competitive and we will have to take another step overnight if we are to be in the fight for pole position.”

Engineers Digging For More Pace

From a technical perspective, the day was a reminder of how delicate the balance has become under the new power unit regulations – where energy harvesting, deployment and car balance are tightly interconnected.

Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin revealed the scale of the morning’s troubleshooting.

“Overall the day finished in a decent place, but our first session was very messy,” he said.

“We had a few configuration issues on the power unit side that took a couple of runs to unpick. On top of that, the balance of the car wasn't great for either driver. That affects our cornering speeds, which in turn impacts the deployment.”

Fortunately for Mercedes, the team managed to regroup before the second session.

“We had a good recovery ahead of FP2; the power unit was working as intended and the car was responding a lot better after a few set-up changes,” he added.

“Having finished the morning somewhat on the back foot, we were able to put together a solid programme with decent long runs from both drivers.”

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Still, the work is far from over.

“That's given us good information ahead of the race on Sunday but there are still a few areas that we need to make progress on overnight,” Shovlin concluded.

“We're into that work already and hopefully can find a bit more pace to deliver a strong team result in Qualifying tomorrow.”

For now, Mercedes sits in a curious position: widely tipped as the team to beat — yet still insisting the real fight in Melbourne is only beginning.

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